


and the walls kept tumbling down

by felicityollies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Concussions, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Trapped, collapsed building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-21 22:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13750836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: When Felicity and William find themselves trapped in a slowly collapsing building, they can’t do anything but wait to be rescued. On the other side, Oliver is in a panic over the two people he cares about most in this world.





	and the walls kept tumbling down

**Author's Note:**

> well, I’m supposed to be taking a break, but like.... i was so productive with school work today, so i rewarded myself with finishing a oneshot. Is that weird? i don’t care. Anyway, when I read the idea I couldn’t help but put my angsty hands all over it... soo i hope you enjoy.

Felicity slid out of the cab, quickly followed by her son William. Her eyes moved over the building in front of them. It was several stories high. A mix of modern and an older style. The side facing them was full of glass. She could see the empty offices on the inside. The rest of the building was sleek brick in a dark grey in coloring. Pillars made of the same brick stood in front of the entrance, holding up part of the second floor. This was the third building she and William were visiting today, but so far she was most impressed by this one.

“I can just see the sign,” she said, lifting her hands in front of her face and spreading them a few inches apart, “Smoak Technologies.”

William scrunched up his nose.

“What?” she asked, “You don’t like it?”

“The building is nice… on the outside,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

He was a terrible liar just like his father, but she didn’t push the subject. She was sure he was just tired of being carted around all day. It was Saturday and she had been dragging him around to all the potential ST sites because Oliver was busy. The eleven year old gave her his opinion, but she suspected he held back due to not wanting to hurt her feelings. Or something of the like.

“C’mon,” she waved him towards the entrance.

She had the key from the real estate agent. Hey, she had given their company come good business the last several years. They knew they could trust her. She unlocked the door and ushered William inside. He shuffled along side her. She flicked on the lights inside; the building hadn’t been empty for too long, so they were lucky enough to have electricity. The lobby was wide and welcoming. It truly could be the perfect place for her company. She could picture it, modern lighting, warm colors, advanced tech, and maybe a few plants, probably ferns because they were sturdy and, well, she was a bit biased when it came to house plants. A smiling receptionist there to greet everyone, a waiting room complete with a sweet little coffee bar and other refreshments there for waiting clients and investors.

And this was only the first floor.

She explained her vision for Smoak Technologies to William and waited for him to give her his opinion.

“Not bad,” he shrugged.

She deflated slightly, “Well, let’s see the other floors.”

William nodded. They slipped into the elevator instead of going up the large staircase in the front. Up and down buildings all day in three inch heels did a number on her toes. On the fourth floor, they stood near the windows and gazed upon Star City. She loved the view of the city below. It wasn’t the highest she had ever been in the city. Queen Consolidated and Palmer Tech had taken care of that. No it wasn’t high, but she loved it. It was small and perfect for her to get started with Smoak Technologies.

“I think I’m in love with this place,” she sighed happily.

“I like it too,” William muttered.

“Good, we should get back to the real estate agent.”

As the entered the elevator for the second time, a loud screech filled her ears. It was slightly dulled, meaning it came from outside, but she knew that sound anywhere. The undeniable scream of Black Siren. What was she doing there? Had she been following them? God, couldn’t she let them have a single moment?

The scream grew louder and the building shook.

“Oh god,” she threw her body against William’s.

Glass shattered outside. She slammed her hand on the button to take them downstairs. She hoped to god they were taken down fast enough. If they were in the elevator they were at least shielded from her, but if they met her on the stairs…. She wasn’t willing to risk William’s life like that.

“There’s been a lot of…. not killing Oliver lately and frankly, I’m sick of it,” Black siren’s voice could be heard through the elevator door, “But if I can’t kill him I might as well do the next best thing and make him suffer. Buh bye.”

She was loud, forcing her voice to echo through the building. Felicity kept her arms wrapped around William, waiting for the worst to come. Black Siren would not scare her. She refused to be bullied by anyone.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered in Will’s ear.

They were halfway between the third and second floor when an explosion went off. The building rocked worse than before, weakened by Black Siren’s screams. The elevator stuttered and shook. Fear settled in her chest. The last time she had been in a collapsing building an earthquake had been going on around her. She pretended to be okay then too, but she wasn’t. She was terrified and it left her with a few mental scars. Including the fear of being buried alive. But she wouldn’t allow herself to show how scared she was in front of Wiliam.

“Felicity,” he whispered.

“I’m right here,” she ran her fingers through his hair, “The safety mechanisms should keep us steady and even if we dropped we’re not likely to get more than a couple bruises from this height. We’re going to get out of here okay.”

* * *

“Turn on the news,” Thea said, coming into his office.

Oliver quickly clicked on the T.V.

The news showed a building downtown, nearly collapsed, and surrounded by a fire and rescue team.

“Was anyone in there?” he asked.

“They’re trying to find out,” Thea said, “Everyone just arrived.”

Oliver swallowed thickly. Felicity and William were supposed to have gone out to buildings like that today. Office buildings for Smoak Tech. He closed his eyes and prayed for a quick moment that it wasn’t one of the sites they had gone to see.

“What’s the address?” he asked, pulling out his phone.

Thea rattled it off as he opened the last text from Felicity, letting him know where they were headed. His heart stopped. They were in there. His wife and his son were trapped in that building.

“Oh god,” Thea said, reading his face.

They both left the office as quickly as possible.

When they arrived, Oliver pushed through and towards the yellow tape.

“Mr. Mayor you can’t be here,” a police officer put his hand on Oliver’s chest.

Oliver had half a mind to push him out of the way, “My wife and son are in there!” he shouted.

Anger, panic, and sadness, a swirl of emotion ran through him. He swallowed back bile that was building its way up in his throat.

Before the officer could say anything else, Oliver moved past him, and slipped under the yellow tape. No one was going to argue with him. The building was mostly rubble. Broken glass and brick everywhere. Some of the building was still standing, but a lot of it had toppled inward. He tried to figure out a way he could get inside, but it seemed like a daunting task.

“Where are Felicity and William?” Oliver asked one of the rescue workers.

“We haven’t heard anyone, Mr. Mayor,” she stammered.

His chest tightened. No, they can’t be dead. He wouldn’t believe they were gone. Not yet. He had to get in there himself.

Oliver pushed past everyone and dug into the brick with his bare hands. He was going to dig his way in there and get them out. He was going to find them or die trying.

“Mr. Mayor,” the female rescue worker from before grabbed onto his arm, “Let us do our job,” she pleaded.

He shook his head, “I have to get to them,” he pulled brick after brick away from the pile of rubble.

Oliver knew there were more people watching him. There were news cameras on him. The city was watching him lose his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. The people he loved the most were trapped inside that building. If they weren’t, Felicity would have called him to let him know. She would have said something to quell his fears.

“My wife and my son are in there don’t you understand?” he snapped, pulling at more bricks, “I have to get in there,” his voice cracked.

“We have barely had time to figure out what we’re going to do. We don’t know if this is stable. We don’t know if there’s anyone in there. We need to be able to do our jobs,” the young woman stood tall, refusing to back down this time.

He stumbled backwards. His dust covered hands went to his hair, running through what was once neatly done hair, and tugging. All he could do was stand there and watch as the rescue workers did their job. One held a device in their hands, something that looked like a smaller tablet. He had it pointed at the building, but Oliver had no idea what the man was doing. He watched him step closer to the rubble.

“Hey!” he called out, “I’m finally picking up some sound from inside.”

A pang struck Oliver in the chest. He knew it. They were in there. Hot tears burned in his eyes. His throat tightened.

“Oh god,” he choked.

He gripped his hair tightly. His body ached to move, to fight, but there was nothing to fight except a pile of bricks in his way. He wanted to scream.

“It seems stable enough now to bring in the big guns,” another young person with a different device said.

He was going to explode out of his skin.

Everything became a blur. People moving around him. The sounds were nothing but dull nonsense. The world kept moving, but he just stood there. He could picture Felicity and William trapped inside, scared and alone, pinned under rubble, and waiting for help. It made his stomach clench and bile inch up his throat again. He swallowed hard.

It wasn’t until there was word of an opening that he took off at a dead run. He didn’t hear anything else. Didn’t see anyone. He ran as fast as he could, leaping over equipment and pushing past rescue workers. The opening was barely big enough to fit his large frame, but he managed. He dove through it and somersaulted into the wreckage. Oliver nearly hit pieces of wood and lighting. Sparks flew from the broken fixtures. He crunched shattered glass beneath his feet.

“Will! Felicity!”

“Oliver!?” Felicity’s voice was muffled.

“Where are you?” he stepped over and under more pieces of rubble.

“Elevator!”

He scrambled towards her voice until he found the elevator. It was hard to move around the first floor. Everything was collapsed downward, either making him duck or covering the floor and forcing him to move awkwardly through the space. Worse there was rubble in the way of the door; large pieces of wood, what looked like to be what used to be the ceiling. Oliver hunched down in the little area in front of the elevator and sighed.

“Can you open the door?”

“Sort of…”

He heard the ding of the door before it slowly, achingly so, tried to open. The door stopped when it had reached about a foot’s worth of opening. He could see his wife and son. They were alive and well. Just trapped and scared. He was going to get them out, though. He was going to free them from this mess.

“Felicity… Will… are you guys okay?” he reached his hand through.

“We’re fine dad,” William said.

He had to pull his hand back before the door closed again. The sound of the rescue workers entering the building filled his ears.

“They’re this way!” he shouted, “I’m going to get you out,” he said quieter.

He was more than determined. Oliver carefully got the rubble out of the way. Scooting debris and other crap out of the way. He made sure every movement was careful because he did not want to make this worse.

“Open the door.”

He heard the ding again as the door began to open. Both hands went to the doors. He pressed as hard as he could against them. Clenching his teeth, he pushed and pushed until the parted further. Something trembled above them, but he wouldn’t stop.

“Oliver,” Felicity said hesitantly.

“I have to get you both out of there, the rescue team is coming.”

He finally got the door open far enough that both Felicity and William could escape. Without another thought, he let go of the elevator and moved back as much as he could. Felicity and William hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around them, holding them close, but he couldn’t keep them there.

“Go, go…” he shoved them towards the way he had come.

“Mr. Mayor!” the familiar voice of the rescue worker called.

“I’ve got them, they’re coming…”

He heard William and Felicity reach the rescue workers as he followed. They moved under the debris much faster than he did. Another rumble from up above had him looking skyward.

The last thing he heard before something hard fell against his forehead was a loud and sharp, “Oliver!”

* * *

Oliver woke with a headache. The beeping of a heart monitor didn’t help. He groaned and tried to shy away from the harsh light of the hospital room.

“Mr. Knight in Shining armor is awake,” Felicity’s voice washed over him.

William’s laugh followed.

He blinked a couple of times and looked towards them. Felicity gave a warm smile.

“Now how is it that we’re the ones who were trapped in the building and you’re the one who ends up in the hospital with a concussion?” she teased.

He pouted.

“Ah, Mayor Hero Queen is awake,” Thea chimed in as she walked into the room.

He deflated even further.

“You know this does nothing to help the Green Arrow rumors, right?” she whispered.

“Are you all going to harass me or…” he asked.

“No,” Thea said, “I’m glad you saved my nephew and sister-in-law,” she continued, “And I’m here to steal my favorite nephew to get some ice cream downstairs.”

They wandered out the door and Oliver just shook his head. He was relieved to say the least. He never wanted to feel that panic again. There was a part of him that really thought he was going to lose Felicity and William that day. He didn’t know what he would do without them. They were his world and he loved them more than anything.

“Hey, we’re right here. We’re save. No more than a little bruising and some smoke inhalation,” she said as if she could read his mind. Some days he wondered, “We’re okay,” she kissed his cheek.

He sighed, “I know.”

She climbed into bed with him and he wrapped his arm around her. It made him feel a little better to hold her close.

“Are you okay?” he asked, not asking about her physical well-being.

She put her hand on his chest and nodded slowly, “I was scared. Really freaking scared, but I’m okay…. now. Lost a good potential building for Smoak Tech, but… I’m okay,” she sighed and buried her face in his neck, “I’ve spent too much time surrounded by collapsing buildings.”

“You were brave,” he hugged her tight.

“So were you and so was William. He was scared, but he was so strong. He takes after his dad.”

He smiled proudly. His heart felt warm in his chest. He loved his brave little family.

“We have a problem, though,” Felicity said, “Black Siren is acting alone.”

His smile faltered, “She’s the one behind this.” It wasn’t a question.

“She wants revenge against you, which means this isn’t going to be the end of it.”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, to either of you.”

“I know,” she nuzzled him gently, “I won’t let her bully me or this family.”

He swelled with pride. The strong woman he fell in love with and continued to fall in love with every damn day of his life.

“We’ll take care of this,” he said.

Felicity leaned up and kissed his lips, “Yes, we will.”

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think!
> 
> tumblr & twitter: felicityollies


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